Barbra Banda’s goal leads Orlando over Washington 1-0 for NWSL championship. Marta earns title

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Barbra Banda scored in the 37th minute and the Orlando Pride beat the Washington Spirit 1-0 on Saturday night to win their first National Women’s Soccer League championship.

Banda dribbled into the right side of the box and made a move past a defender before kicking the ball with her left foot past goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury. Banda earned the championship MVP award and became the first player in the NWSL to score in each round of the playoffs.

Orlando’s win also gave veteran Brazilian star Marta her first NWSL title.

“I believe that God knows when the right time is for things to happen,” Marta said.

The Pride’s midfielder Angelina was nearly called for a push before passing it to Banda, but the VAR determined the play was fair.

“It feels good to win the championship in the playoffs and I’m proud of this team,” Banda said. “It feels natural to play with Marta because she’s my idol.”

The Spirit (20-7-2) controlled the game and outshot the Pride 25-9, had two more shots on goal and held possession 58% of the time. Rosemonde Kouassi had Washington’s best chance in the 47th minute when she headed a ball from about 10 yards away.

“Sometimes you get great chances and you can score, but today we couldn’t,” Washington coach Jonatan Giráldez said.

Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, who was dealing with an ongoing back injury, took five shots and played 90 minutes.

Top-seed Orlando (21-6-2) went unbeaten in its first 23 matches, a league record. The Pride beat Kansas City in the semifinals before hoisting the trophy at CPKC Stadium.

Orlando is the first team since 2019 to win the Shield and the title in the same year.

“This means everything, we’ve been through so many times and have been working for this moment,” Orlando Pride coach Seb Hines said.

Washington had won its last five playoff games when trailing at the half, but that streak ended with the loss.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Orlando Pride forward Marta, right, celebrates with midfielder Morgan Gautrat, left, after they defeated the Washington Spirit in the NWSL championship soccer game at CPKC Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse, right, hugs Pride defender Carrie Lawrence after they defeated the Washington Spirit in the NWSL championship soccer game at CPKC Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse kisses the trophy after the team defeated the Washington Spirit in the NWSL championship soccer game at CPKC Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Orlando Pride team members celebrate after they defeated the Washington Spirit in the NWSL championship soccer game at CPKC Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Washington Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt, center left, looks on as the Orlando Pride celebrates after winning the NWSL championship soccer game at CPKC Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Orlando Pride defender Kerry Abello, left, and Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, right, battle for the ball during the first half of the NWSL championship at CPKC Stadium, Saturday, November 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse, right, blocks a shot on goal by Washington Spirit during the second half of the NWSL championship soccer game at CPKC Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Washington Spirit forward Ashley Hatch (33) tries to head the ball into the goal during the second half of the NWSL championship against the Orlando Pride at CPKC Stadium, Saturday, November 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Washington Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt, left, and Orlando Pride forward Adriana (9) battle for control of the ball during the second half of the NWSL championship soccer game at CPKC Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda (22) runs past Washington Spirit defender Tara McKeown (9) during the second half of the NWSL championship at CPKC Stadium, Saturday, November 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda, center, raises her MVP trophy after the team defeated the Washington Spirit in the NWSL championship soccer game at CPKC Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Orlando Pride forward Marta (10) and Washington Spirit midfielder Leicy Santos (10) battle for the ball during the first half of the NWSL championship at CPKC Stadium, Saturday, November 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury, in grey, clears the ball during the first half of the NWSL championship at CPKC Stadium against the Orlando Pride, Saturday, November 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Orlando Pride midfielder Angelina, left, battles Washington Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt, right, for a ball during the first half of the NWSL championship at CPKC Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Orlando Pride forward Marta (10) leaps into the air to make a play on a ball in front of Washington Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt, right, during the first half of the NWSL championship at CPKC Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Orlando Pride midfielder Angelina, center, celebrates her assist on a goal by Pride forward Barbra Banda with teammate Pride defender Cori Dyke (31) during the first half of the NWSL championship at CPKC Stadium against the Washington Spirit, Saturday, November 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Orlando Pride forwards Marta, center, and Barbra Banda, right, lift the NWSL championship trophy together after defeating the Washington Spirit in an NWSL soccer game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

RHO, Italy (AP) — No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink – until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada — one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in icemaking,’’ Messer said during an interview less than two weeks into the process.

If Goldilocks were a speedskater, hockey ice would be medium hard, for fast puck movement and sharp turns. Figure skating ice would be softer, allowing push off for jumps and so the ice doesn’t shatter on landing. Curling ice is the softest and warmest of all, for controlled sliding.

For speedskating ice to be just right, it must be hard, cold and clean. And very, very smooth.

“The blades are so sharp, that if there is some dirt, the blade will lose the edge,’’ Messer said, and the skater will lose speed.

Speedskater Enrico Fabris, who won two Olympic golds in Turin in 2006, has traded in his skates to be deputy sports manager at the speedskating venue in Rho. For him, perfect ice means the conditions are the same for all skaters — and then if it's fast ice, so much the better.

"It's more of a pleasure to skate on this ice,'' he said.

Messer’s first Olympics were in Calgary in 1988 — the first time speedskating was held indoors. “That gave us some advantages because we didn’t have to worry about the weather, wind blowing or rain,’’ he said. Now he is upping the challenge by becoming the first ice master to build a temporary rink for the Olympics.

Before Messer arrived in Italy, workers spent weeks setting up insulation to level the floor and then a network of pipes and rubber tubes that carry glycol — an antifreeze — that is brought down to minus 7 or minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the ice.

Water is run through a purification system — but it can’t be too pure, or the ice that forms will be too brittle. Just the right amount of impurities “holds the ice together,’’ Messer said.

The first layers of water are applied slowly, with a spray nozzle; after the ice reaches a few centimeters it is painted white — a full day’s work — and the stripes are added to make lanes.

“The first one takes about 45 minutes. And then as soon as it freezes, we go back and do it again, and again and again. So we do it hundreds of times,’’ Messer said.

As the ice gets thicker, and is more stable, workers apply subsequent layers of water with hoses. Messer attaches his hose to hockey sticks for easier spreading.

What must absolutely be avoided is dirt, dust or frost — all of which can cause friction for the skaters, slowing them down. The goal is that when the skaters push “they can go as far as possible with the least amount of effort,’’ Messer said.

The Zamboni ice resurfacing machine plays a key role in keeping the track clean, cutting off a layer and spraying water to make a new surface.

One challenge is gauging how quickly the water from the resurfacing machine freezes in the temporary rink.

Another is getting the ice to the right thickness so that the Zamboni, weighing in at six tons, doesn’t shift the insulation, rubber tubing or ice itself.

“When you drive that out, if there’s anything moving it will move. We don’t want that,’’ Messer said.

The rink got its first big test on Nov. 29-30 during a Junior World Cup event. In a permanent rink, test events are usually held a year before the Olympics, leaving more time for adjustments. “We have a very small window to learn,’’ Messer acknowledged.

Dutch speedskater Kayo Vos, who won the men’s neo-senior 1,000 meters, said the ice was a little soft — but Messer didn’t seem too concerned.

“We went very modest to start, now we can start to change the temperatures and try to make it faster and still maintain it as a safe ice,’’ he said.

Fine-tuning the air temperature and humidity and ice temperature must be done methodically — taking into account that there will be 6,000 spectators in the venue for each event. The next real test will be on Jan. 31, when the Olympians take to the ice for their first training session.

“Eighty percent of the work is done but the hardest part is the last 20 percent, where we have to try to find the values and the way of running the equipment so all the skaters get the same conditions and all the skaters get the best conditions,’’ Messer said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Serpentines are set on the ice of the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers clean the ice surface during a peed skating Junior World Cup and Olympic test event, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)